Did You Write The Book Of Love?
by frustrateddalekalarm
Summary: One afternoon, Sam gets a call from a deep-voiced stranger claiming to be selling books. Dean is not convinced. The first story in my 'Bumper Book of Love' 'verse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** See Jen writing for pretty much the most overused AU troupe ever. See Jen not caring that everyone else has done it, because she just wanted to give it a go. See everyone being disappointed in Jen's lack of AU skills.

And continuing the 'see Jen' chronicles. See Jen attempting to be funny. See Jen is definitely NOT funny.

There is actually quite a bit of dialogue in this. I'm not sure dialogue is my strong suit. Also, it's quite long, so I'm going to post it in parts. This gives me the added bonus of being able to beg for reviews at the start of each chapter (it's all finished, but if I don't have a little time between posting each chapter, how are my bribes going to pay off?).

(Also, I'm sorry about using 'mum' instead of 'mom.' I just couldn't do it. Come on, cut me some slack. I wrote 'fries' instead of 'chips,' didn't I?)

Just a heads up, I'm not a John Winchester fan, and it kind of shows. So, rating for mentions of alcohol abuse.

All mistakes are my own and spellchecks'. Reviews are everything good in this world.

* * *

Dean hesitated before he answering the phone. The number flashing on the caller ID did not seem familiar, but 14 years of his fathers voice replaying in his head, always reminding him to check who was calling, to leave it if it might be someone asking for the money they did not have, meant Dean missed more phone calls than he answered. But Dean was trying to force himself to study, and the harsh ringing of the telephone would only stay with him in the quiet of the rest of the apartment if he didn't end it soon.

He picked up the phone.

The voice that came through from the other end was deep, like the owner had swallowed gravel with a shot of whisky, but in an entirely pleasant way that shot through Dean like a bullet. "Hello. I would like to speak to Samuel Winchester."

Dean swallowed slowly. No way was someone who sounded like that, and didn't even give a name to go with the phone-sex operators voice, talking to his baby brother. But Sammy would be angry with him if he blew up at one of the few people in this town he actually knew, so Dean decided to go with a more tactful response. "Wow. I don't think Sammy is quite old enough to be talking to you."

The voice on the other end of the line seemed to hesitate for a moment, before saying "I don't follow you. But I assure you, whatever fears you have are unfounded. May I please speak to Samuel?"

Dean had to give it to the guy. He was persistent. "No you may not. Sam is out."

Dean heard what he thought might have been a frustrated sigh, before the voice starts up again, and seriously, how did this guy think he was just going to be able to talk to Sammy, he had to be at least 30 years older than the kid. "Well, can you please let him know that Haven got in a new order of books today if he would like to check them out?"

Immediately, Dean felt mortified. Sam had mentioned that morning someone from the towns bookstore, 'Haven,' might be calling if they got in a new delivery, and now Sam is really going to be angry at him for offending the book guy before he even got to take a look.

Dean let out an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak of "Okay" before he hung up as fast as possible.

-000-

Dean really didn't want to go to 'Haven,' but Sam had looked up at him with his pleading eyes and floppy hair and really, Dean had always been bad at saying "no" to his brother. So he had driven Sam to the bookshop, followed him inside, and was immediately glad he did.

The guy behind the counter was hot. Like, stupidly hot. Like 'I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-forgot-to-shave-and-yet-I-still-look-great' hot, and couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Dean himself. All fluffy black hair and pale skin and big, electric-blue eyes.

Dean's porn-reality filter failed completely, and he blurted out "I'm looking for books about sex" before he realised that, one, his kid brother was right there hearing him talking about sex, and two, it probably was a very, very stupid thing to say.

The man didn't even look up, only asked "school project?" and Dean was shocked and horrified to discover that this guy was the man on the phone a few hours earlier.

He wanted to say "No, this is just my not-very-well-thought-out plan to let you know I'm interested in sex. With you. But it doesn't seem to be working." But what came out was "Yeah. Health classes. Don't you hate them?"

Suddenly, the man looked up, and Dean felt his gaze being caught and held by possibly the most intense stare he'd ever been on the receiving end of. A large part of him screamed to look away, but and even larger part couldn't, even if he tried. "They were never a particular favourite of mine, no."

For a moment there was almost complete silence, broken only by the soft shuffling of Sam's feet as he jumped from foot to foot, before Dean coughed, the sound shockingly loud.

"My name is Dean. We spoke on the phone." The other man hesitated before he reached out to shake Dean's hand. It was a strange handshake, three firm pumps and a tight grip before it was over. Like the guy knew in theory how to give handshakes, but had little practice in actually having them.

"Castiel." The man, no Castiel, said. "Yes, I remember. You seemed convinced that I was involved in some form of lecherous act."

Dean felt himself blush lightly and finally broke Castiel's gaze, looking instead at Sam, who was bright red and looked absolutely horrified. They hadn't been in town for more than a few months, but Dean wondered how many times Sam had come to this bookshop, and why he'd never told Dean about it. "Hey man, I'm sorry about that."

Castiel's expression still didn't change, he just stared at Dean like he wasn't sure what was going on, nor sure if he liked it. "That's okay, Dean. Sam, I've put the new arrivals out the back if you'd like to have a look at them."

Sam nodded his head enthusiastically before dashing off into the store, and Castiel finally looked away from Dean, back down at the piece of paper he'd been writing on before he came in.

Dean wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't particularly interested in looking at books, and he'd already fantastically embarrassed himself trying to talk to Castiel, so he flopped down into one of the armchairs littering the front room of the store and tried to find something to distract himself with until Sam came back.

I didn't work, and every few minutes he found his gaze flicking towards Castiel, but the other man didn't give the slightest indication that he'd noticed Dean's glances.

About twenty minutes later, Dean heard the sound of footsteps, and Sam came jogging back into the front room clutching a small-ish book to his chest. He approached the counter and coughed quietly. Castiel looked up from his work and seemed to smile slightly at Sam, though his expression still did not really change. "Found something Sam?"

Sam grinned. "Yep. I found lots of things. But I'd like to have this one." He spun around to face his brother. "Can I, Dean?"

Dean let out a long-suffering sigh, pushed himself up out of the chair and approached the counter. "Course, Sammy." He said, ruffling Sam's hair. "How much do I owe?"

This time, Castiel answered. "$20. And if you leave your name and number, I can look for those books you requested."

Dean handed over the money, speechless. Had Castiel not realised Dean was joking about the sex books? Surely a guy couldn't take everything literally. But nevertheless, he wrote down his contact details on the piece of paper Castiel passed him.

Castiel nodded sharply, taking both Dean's money and the paper before passing the book down to Sam, who was still grinning. "I will give you a call later then, Dean." and Dean's mouth went dry as his mind conjured up all the hidden meaning there could be behind that statement.

He squeaked out a "Thanks," and seriously, this squeaking thing was starting to become embarrassing, before spinning on his heel to find Sam halfway out the door already, and calling a "See you, Castiel" over his shoulder.

"I'm sure you will, Sam." Castiel called back, then followed with a "It was nice to meet you, Dean." All Dean could think was that he might be in trouble here.

-000-

A couple of day's later, the phone's caller ID displayed a vaguely familiar number, and Dean almost ignored it, before remembering that it might be the number from 'Haven" and that oh wow, Castiel was actually calling him. He didn't know whether to be excited, or feel sorry for the guy who obviously didn't know how to take a joke.

He decided on excited, after all Castiel had said over the phone was "would you like to come into the shop today, Dean? I have some things I'd like to show you." and Dean's mind jumped immediately to sexy outcomes, thinking quietly that he might just have a problem.

Ten minutes later he arrived at the bookshop and opened the door to find that Castiel seemed to be waiting for him, a small pile of books resting next to his hand. "Hello, Dean." Castiel said, passing him the pile. "I thought you might want to have a look at these."

Dean was not at all interested, but Castiel had gone through all the trouble to find these books, so he figured it was only polite to look. They seemed to all be dry and purely biological, until he reached the second-to-last one, a copy of the _'Karma Sutra.'_

Dean choked on air for a minute stared wide-eyed at Castiel, who didn't react at all to Dean's shock, only stared, vaguely disinterested, back.

Dean got his vocal chords under control again. "You know, Castiel, I wasn't actually looking for books about sex. I was just trying to get you flustered." he managed to splutter out.

Castiel gave Dean the same not-quiet-there smile he'd used on Sam the last time they'd been in the bookshop, and said, completely calmly "I know. So was I."

Dean let out a loud bark of laughter, and knew he was definitely in trouble.

-000-

It wasn't even a week before Dean found himself outside 'Haven' again. School had just finished for the day, Sam was in one of his after-school clubs, and his dad was having one of _those_ days. Dean really did not want to go home on his own.

There was no bell as the door to 'Haven' opened, only a click as the hinges were forced open, loud enough to catch the attention of Castiel behind the counter. He looked up quickly, face politely disinterested, but seemed to relax a little when he saw Dean enter.

Dean grinned and headed over to the counter, leaning over slightly on his forearms once he reached it. "Hey Cas."

Casteil did not appear to notice the shortening of his name, only looking a strange mixture of confused and heartened that Dean spoke. "Hello, Dean." He replied. "I did not think to see you here again. I didn't realise you were interested in anything we sell."

Dean shrugged. At first, he too had been confused as to why he had wandered down to a bookshop, of all places, when there were perfectly good bars around that didn't bother checking for ID. But he wasn't too fool to know that it had nothing to do with the books. He wanted to reply "Well, I'm very interested in something, but it sure isn't anything you sell," but instead went with "No, I'm not really."

Castiel didn't look disappointed. In fact, his expression did not change at all, only watching Dean, waiting for him to say more.

"Sammy's got an after-school club thing, and I don't really want to go home right now."

Dean cursed himself. Saying that he didn't want to go home would only make people ask _why_ he didn't want to, and he did not feel like explaining that to anyone, especially an almost total stranger like Castiel. He braced himself for the inevitable questions, _"what do you mean you don't want to go home? What could be that bad? Everyone's father has bad moods, that doesn't mean you should avoid him. Avoidance is never the key"_, but they never came. Instead, Castiel only nodded. "You're welcome any time, Dean." and then he smiled his barely there smile. "Maybe I'll be able to tempt you into something."

Dean wanted to run his head into the counter to banish _those_ thoughts. Or at least keep them inside his brain where they belonged.

-000-

Dean pushed Sam ahead of him through the doorway, the click announcing their arrival. After their fourth visit in two weeks, Castiel had been greeting the two of them with his smile, which Dean was beginning to think was as expressive as the mans face got, a slight upturn of the corners of the mouth, and a brightening in the eyes. Sam darted off out the back and Dean made his way over to the counter.

"Hey Cas. How are you?"

"I am well, Dean. And you?"

"Good, man. Good."

There was a short silence, where Castiel seemed to be mulling over something. He was not a big talker most of the time, seeming to try and communicate through intense staring, but Dean had learned that if you gave him time, Castiel would in fact find the words he always seemed to be looking for.

"You have come here a lot for someone who is not interested in these books, Dean."

There was a question attached to that statement that Dean was not touching, so instead he went with avoidance.

"Yeah, it's Sam, man. Kid's a massive bookworm."

Castiel let the topic drop, instead asking about school, but concern had found its way onto his face.

The next time Dean told Sam they were heading to 'Haven,' Sam shook his head.

"No, Dean. I have to go home. I have homework. And besides, I've looked at every book there like a hundred times."

Dean felt the smile fall from his face. If Sam didn't go, then Dean had no reason to go either. Cas was already aware that Dean did not come to the bookshop for its wares, and if he didn't drag Sammy along, then maybe he'd catch on to the real reason Dean was there.

Sam noticed Dean deflating and sighed. "Look, Dean. It's nice that you're making friends with Castiel, God knows you need more friends, but you don't need me there so you can go. So just drop me off at home and go off to the shop on your own. He'll be happy to see you."

Dean was not surprised Sam had picked up on the real reasons for his frequent visits to 'Haven.' Sam was often more aware of his own motivations than himself. But he couldn't let Sam know he was right.

"Did you just say I have no friends?" Sam grinned.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

The rest of the drive passed in silence, and after Dean dropped Sam in the apartment they shared with their father, he headed back into town, wondering how he was going to explain away Sam's non-appearance.

He needn't have worried. When Castiel saw that Dean was alone, his customary facial quirk widened, until it could almost be called a smile by normal person standards. Dean smiled back.

"You finally decided to stop dragging Sam along here, then?" Castiel asked, and if Dean wasn't sure that the "I'm trying to make you flustered" thing wasn't a one-time, joke, then he would've sworn that Cas was actually teasing him. Dean grinned wider.

"Nah, Sammy loves his books. But, giant nerd as he is, he had some homework to do."

Castiel did not seem at all convinced, but appeared to be attempting to look so. "And you do not, then?"

"No, Cas. I have a lot of homework. But it's never really been my thing."

Now Castiel only looked confused. "Homework is important, Dean, if you want to get good grades."

Dean shrugged. "Grades have never really bothered me, Cas. I just want to finish school and then call Bobby and see if he'll give me a job."

Castiel did not look mollified. "And Bobby is?"

"A friend of my dads. Owns a salvage yard and a small mechanics shop. I've always liked cars."

At this, Castiel's face softened. "Yes, I have noticed. I may not know much about cars, but yours seems very well cared for."

Dean beamed. There was nothing he hated more than people who didn't appreciate the care he put into his car, except perhaps those who pretended they did, and Castiel didn't seem to fit either of those categories. "Nothing but the best for my baby." he said.

Castiel smiled again, and they lapsed into a companionable silence.

After a few minutes, Dean broke it. "So what about you, man? I recon you were one of those kids who turned in every piece of homework right on time."

"You would be correct, Dean." Castiel replied. "School was very important to me. I wanted to be at university by now, but things happened, and here I am instead."

Dean wanted to ask what _things_ were. Castiel did not show it on his face, but he was obviously sad about them. However, a few moments past and Cas didn't seem to be willing to offer up any more information. Dean remembered that Cas hadn't pressed him for details about his home life. If he didn't want to talk, then he didn't have too.

Instead, Dean laughed. "Well, I guess I've got you pegged, then, nerdy little guy. Besides, being here can't be that bad. I mean, you got to meet me. Must make it worth it."

Castiel had a look in his eyes that Dean could only describe as fond. "Yes Dean."

-000-

Soon, 'Haven' became the place for Dean to hang out almost every night after school. While Sam was off nerding it up with his clubs or his homework, Dean found himself leaning over a counter to talk to Cas. Castiel was a good conversationalist, once you got past the staring at the possible attempts at telepathy, and even when Dean was sitting in an armchair and Cas doing whatever he actually did for work, the silences were never awkward.

Sam's nerdiness, despite being an oft-teased aspect of his personality, was actually paying off, so much so that by the time the end of the term rolled around, he was top of his class and getting straight A's. Dean was always proud of his brother, but he didn't often get the chance to show it off, with their dad thinking Sam's academic pursuits a waste of time, and Dean's friends not being particularly interested in talking about his kid brother. But Cas was different, always asking about Sam when Dean visited him at work, so when Sam got his test results back and Dean needed someone to brag too, they headed off to 'Haven.'

Sam seemed just as excited to visit the bookshop as Dean, despite his previous protests against visiting. It wasn't the first time Dean had ever thought Sam was a manipulative little kid, but it was the first time he was grateful about it. Sam always knew the right times to push him. Though Dean was sure that a large part of Sam's excitement came from the fact he had promised Sam he could have anything he wanted from the shop, not because of how long it'd been since he'd been there.

Dean made is usual way over to the counter, and Cas looked up to twitch him his usual greeting. Dean wondered, again, if Castiel could in fact smile like a normal person. But it wasn't Dean that Cas addressed first, instead looking over his shoulder. "It's nice to see you again, Sam. Have you been busy?"

Sam was practically vibrating with excitement. "Yeah, lots of homework. Have you gotten a new order in? Dean said I could have anything."

Cas nodded. "There was a new delivery just yesterday. Take your time." Sam dashed off to the back of the store.

Dean shook his head fondly. "Kid's a genius, I'm telling you. Straight A's in everything."

"I'm sure he just has a good influence." And wow, did that make Dean blush, even as he cursed his skin for being so damn expressive.

"Nah, Cas. I'm terrible at school. Sammy's just a natural."

"Nevertheless, you are very intelligent, Dean. Don't sell yourself short."

There was a short silence where Dean could practically feel his face burning, before the sounds of Sam's running feet broke it. Obviously, there was a book that Sam had had his eyes on for some time.

Sam returned with a large tome on mythology clutched under one arm, and a huge grin on his face. He presented it to Dean, who flipped it over slowly and gaped at the price. "Wow. Umm. That's a little expensive, buddy."

Sam's face fell instantly and he reached out to take the book back. But Cas' voice stopped him. "Have it. For free."

Dean turned his gaping face to Cas instead. "You can't do that, man. This is expensive. Won't your boss be mad or something?"

Cas shook his head. "Touched as I am by your concern, my brother is my boss, and anyway, Sam is our best customer. Seems to me he should get some kind of frequent customer discount."

For a moment, Dean felt inexplicably _scared_. What Cas was doing was too much, and he himself was doing far too little to deserve it. Cas, however, saw only his hesitance, and sighed loudly. "Just take it, Dean."

Dean swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and nodded. "Thanks. I owe you one."

This drew Cas' eyes back to Dean's face, his eyebrows drawn together and head cocked to one side. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a curious bird. "You don't think paying attention to me is enough?"

Cas looked so earnest as he said it, as if that isn't one of the most screwed up things Dean had ever heard, that Dean couldn't decide whether he wanted to wrap Cas up in a hug and hide him from the rest of the world, or cry. In the end, he went with neither option, only stared back at Cas, and wondered what the hell is wrong with Castiel's home life if something as simple as a "good morning" and some shallow conversation was worth as much to him as, frankly, the amount Dean would spend in a month on groceries.

There was a silence so laden with _something_ that even Sam didn't move for fear of breaking it. But the moment was over when Cas twitched his smile again. "Besides, I would very much like it if Sam kept coming back."

-000-

"What you looking at?" Dean practically draped himself all over the counter, his hands hanging loosely over the edge as he tried to catch a glimpse of computer screen over Cas' shoulder. Dean didn't usually visit 'Haven' on the weekend, some part of him telling himself that it wasn't okay to visit a bookshop when he could be out trying to snag illegal drinks or a random hook-up, but it had been a while since he had really enjoyed doing that. So instead he wandered off to see Cas. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the weekends were when the man actually did work, and Castiel resolutely ignored Dean for about half an hour.

"The list of new releases." Cas replied, not even looking around at Dean, and Dean was so shocked that his needling paid off that he almost couldn't find a way to continue the conversation.

"Come on, Cas. Is everything you do related to work?" Dean teased.

"It is when I'm working."

Dean couldn't see Cas' face, so he couldn't tell if Castiel was joking with him, or just being is awkwardly literal self. Anyway, he wasn't sure if being able to see more than the back of Cas' head would help him at all. Castiel could say anything with a blank face.

He decided to go with 'not a joke' and snorted in a way he hoped sounded more exasperated than fond. "Come on, man. Wouldn't it be more fun to look at, like Facebook or porn while you're on the job." Dean smirked, but the effect was totally wasted on Castiel, who still hadn't turned around.

"I don't have a Facebook, and pornography holds no particular interest for me." At this point, Cas turned around to level his stare at Dean. Dean felt his mouth fall open, incredulous, and the top of Cas' ears turned pink, but he continued on regardless, as if porn was just something you regularly discussed with your friend at your workplace. "I just don't understand it."

Dean snapped is mouth closed. And then opened it again. Closed it. Open. "What's there to understand?"

A thought occurred. But there was no way. Cas was hot. Really hot. Sure he was a little weird, but people could ignore that for a good lay. But he had said he didn't understand porn. "You telling me you're a virgin, Cas?"

Castiel's ears were definitely red now, but he didn't look away from Dean's face. "No. I never said that."

Dean's whole face turned as red as Cas' ears. They were in an area of conversation Dean know well, but it couldn't help feeling painfully inept to be having a conversation about sex with Castiel. And not even because he wanted it so much.

Cas continued. "I just don't see the point of sex if it's not part of a serious relationship."

Dean shrugged. "It's fun."

For a minute, Dean thought Castiel would disapprove, but the other man simply continued to stare, as if trying to uncover some hidden meaning behind Dean's superficial answer.

"So who's the lucky girl?" Dean asked

Finally, Cas broke his stare, blinking a few times in a way that seemed almost rapid in his strange way. "Pardon?"

A part of Dean wanted to drop the conversation right there and never find out about Castiel's relationships. If he didn't know he had no chance, then he could always pretend there was one. He could easily just tell Cas not to worry about it. But he _had_ to know.

"Well, you said you weren't a virgin, but you also don't have sex outside serious relationships. So, who is she?"

Cas looked contemplative for a moment. "His name was Balthazar."

Dean did a mental fist-pump. He had a mental party, and hugged all the mental guests at the party with a massive smile on his face.

He went for a tone as nonchalant as possible. "Oh, man, I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Dean. You assumed. Most people tend to. I don't mind. Anyway, Balthazar and I were going to live together when we went off to university, but he got accepted into Oxford. He'd never say anything, but I knew he wanted to go home, so I told him to take the spot, and then I put off school for a year so I could pay for my own place."

Dean tried to look sympathetic. He really did. But there was a lot of alcohol at his mental party, and he was feeling pretty buzzed. "That sucks."

Cas nodded in agreement. "It did."

Then Dean's little mental high made him say something he instantly regretted. "Well, I'd say that we should rent together, but I don't plan on furthering my education."

Cas looked confused, but not for the reasons Dean thought. "Why do you not want to go to university? You're very smart, Dean, and surely Booby would appreciate having someone fully qualified to help in his garage."

No one had ever really tried to convince Dean he should continue schooling, and Cas had done that and more. Dean really wanted to kiss him


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So I discovered something about myself, and that is that it's physically painful for me to have something unfinished on here. So I'm going to put the last part up...umm...tomorrow, hopefully. So I hope someone will look out for that then. Anyway, enjoy this part. It's kind of short.

* * *

The walls and windows of 'Haven' were not particularly thick, and Dean could hear the argument within from the street. He chanced a glance through one of the windows and saw a man looming over Cas, clearly angry, if his raised voice and hand gestures were anything to go by.

Dean managed to make quite a noise as he opened the door, but neither the man, nor Castiel, acknowledged his entrance. The argument didn't seem to be much of an argument, rather, Cas looked to be standing there taking abuse, while the other man shouted at him. Dean wanted to march over, tap the guy on the shoulder, and as the guy turned, punch him in the face.

But Cas spoke up before he had taken a few steps. "I'm sorry that's how you feel, sir. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for you myself. I am not in charge of book pricing."

Dean was stunned. This guy was up in Cas' face, in the middle of a tirade that looked as if it had been going for a while, and yet Castiel didn't seem the least perturbed, nothing in his face giving off any emotion.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to speak to the idiot who is."

Things moved faster than Dean could process. One minute, Castiel was calmly taking abuse from a customer, the next he had lashed forward, one hard reaching out to grab the guys arm and swing it forcefully so it was pushed painfully behind the man's back.

"Do not insult my brother." Castiel hissed in the man's ear, and gave him a sharp push. He then continued louder "I'm sorry, sir. If you do not leave quietly, I will be forced to escort you out." and gave another push in the direction of the door.

They were almost at the exit, the man's face twisted in pain, when Cas seemed to notice he had an audience. "Hello, Dean. Could you please open the door?"

Dean gulped, only slightly more turned on than he was scared, and pushed past Castiel and the man to open the door. Castiel gave one last shove and the man was pushed out of the shop, tripping over Dean's foot as he left.

Dean looked over at Castiel. He looked distinctly satisfied. Dean swallowed harder.

-000-

"If it's not too personal, can I ask why you're going to pay your own way through university?"

Dean had taken up a seat on the 'business' side of the counter, no longer feeling as if he had to lean over it to talk to Cas to keep things from being weird, but after the question, Cas' stare made him shift uncomfortably, as if he were weighing up the pros and cons of Dean's friendship.

Dean was about to excuse himself and leave when Cas answered. "After I brought Balthazar home in freshman year, my father didn't want anything to do with me. I've been paying my own way since then. Luckily, my brother Gabriel was kind enough to give me a place to stay and a job, seeing as he was also cast out."

Castiel's expression did not change as he spoke, as if he were telling the story of someone else, but Dean understood why Cas was so affected by the most simple acts of kindness. He was, however, unsure of how to continue the conversation. Heart to hearts were not his strong suit.

"That's rough. Why'd he do it?"

Cas sighed. "My father is very conservative. He believes that homosexuality is a most grievous sin."

Dean gave a nervous chuckle. He wanted to ask more questions, but things were too near to 'chick flick' territory. So instead, settled with "Religious nut. Got it."

Castiel's eyes hardened, and Dean hadn't realised that they had made him think of bright summer days (and wasn't that the atmosphere of the moment rubbing off on him) until all he saw from them was ice and distance.

"Please, Dean. While there were some undertones, my fathers beliefs have nothing to do with religion as I understand it."

Dean back-peddled as fast as he could "Oh crap. I'm so sorry Cas." but he could see Cas moving away from him, his eyes flicking to the computer screen. Dean couldn't lose Cas like this. He was his only real friend, no strings attached. And wasn't that a shock, realising that his friendship with Cas had nothing to do with the strings he hoped to pull. He genuinely liked the guy. Which was why the next thing out of his mouth was "My dad. Well. He was okay with the whole bi thing. But that's probably because he was too drunk to understand what I was saying to him."

Cas didn't say anything, but his gaze returned to Dean's face. He didn't push, but his eyes softened, and Dean blamed it on the relief that Cas wasn't mad at him, that he wasn't going to tell him to leave, when he continued talking.

"My mum died when I was four. House fire. Me, Sam and dad, we got out, but dad was never the same. Went completely off the rails. I've practically been raising Sammy since he was six months old. It's not really right, you know, but I'd do anything for that kid."

Cas reached out and wrapped his hand around Dean's shoulder. Dean's first instinct was to shrug him off, but it was comforting, to have the kind of support Cas offered with a simple touch. He blinked hard a couple of times. He didn't talk about his family. He didn't tell anyone about his problems at home, and he certainly didn't cry about them. But he needed to tell someone. And why not Cas, who didn't judge, only listened, and seemed to want to offer consolation, but wasn't exactly sure how.

"I am very sorry, Dean. It must be difficult. To have a mothers love, only for it to be snatched away so long. I never knew my own mother. She died during childbirth, and I was adopted almost straight away."

They sat together in silence. Dean could feel the warmth of Castiel's hand seeping through his jacket and knew he would continue to feel it for days, but he still didn't try to shrug it off. Instead, Cas slipped it slowly down Dean's arm, before giving one more squeeze and returning it to his lap.

"So. Gabriel. Any other siblings?"

Cas winced. Dean had thought asking about siblings would break the mood, but in retrospect, he knew he should have realised talking about siblings was still talking about family.

"Yes. I have ten brothers and sisters, though only one biological. Jimmy is my identical twin."

"Well, that's gotta mean something, right?"

"Not really. Adopted families do not have the obligations of blood. They must choose to love each other." Dean didn't like the way this conversation was heading. Not for the first time, he wondered why he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Gabriel and Inias are the only ones who will talk to me now, but Jimmy's anger is what is worst."

For the first time, Dean could see real pain in Castiel's eyes, and he reached out unconsciously to echo Cas' gesture. Cas relaxed into the touch. "I never knew my real father, but a part of me is convinced that if I ever found him, he'd put everything right. You probably think that's stupid."

Dean could only grip tighter. He felt his fingers begin to cramp, but he couldn't let go. "No, I don't think it's stupid, Cas. Naive, sure, but not stupid."

-000-

The night air was freezing, but despite his short sleeve and the fact he hadn't even thought to put on shoes, Dean didn't spare it a second thought. His voice was horse and his dad was passed out in the Impala, and Sam was gone, had fought with John and then ran out of the apartment.

Dean's fingers were shaking as he dialled his phone, more from the panic than the weather.

It was nearly midnight, but Cas picked up on the third ring. "Hello Dean."

Dean struggled to talk through the lump in his throat. "Cas. Need your help. Sam."

"Dean? Where are you?"

Dean managed to choke out his address. Castiel's response was immediate. "I'll be right there."

When Cas arrived ten minutes later, Dean was still standing, motionless, on the sidewalk. He jumped into the passenger seat of the car, and wordlessly, Cas handed him his trench coat. The coat didn't fit Dean, even though it was slightly too big for Cas, but he slipped it on anyway. Cas' arrival brought with it an awareness of the cold his flimsy shirt didn't keep out.

"Which way did Sam go?" Dean blinked a couple of times before Cas' question really sunk in.

"I don't know, man. He could've gone anywhere. I was too busy trying to calm dad down."

Cas looked like he wanted to reach for Dean, but seemed to think better of it. "Don't worry, Dean. We'll find him."

Sam hadn't gone far. They found him leaning against the wall of a service station. Dean was out of the car before Cas had even put it in park and running over to Sam, dragging him into a tight hug. "Sammy." Sam hugged back.

Suddenly, Dean pulled away, holding Sam at arms length. "What the hell do you think you were doing, Sam?" he asked. "Don't you ever do that again. How do you think I feel?" He was working himself into a shout. "How could you be so stupid? You're supposed the be the smart one!"

Cas had made his own way towards the brothers, walking slowly to afford them some private time, but now he appeared at Dean's shoulder. He could see the fear in Sam's eyes. "I think you're being a little harsh, Dean."

Dean spun quickly, face tight, so he was standing almost chest to chest with Cas. "Don't tell me how to treat my family." He hissed. "Don't act like you know what's going on. My family is everything to me. Yours left you."

Dean felt his back hit the brick wall painfully, Castiel's fists bunched in his shirt and their faces inches apart. For once, Dean didn't want to kiss him. He wanted to fight and struggle and run, because Castiel's face was expressionless, but Dean knew there was no way he could free himself from the other mans grip. Castiel was kind of terrifying, and Dean realised he'd never actually seen the man angry.

"I'm going to let that go, because you're scared and angry" he said, and his voice sounded perfectly calm "but don't you ever say that to me again."

Dean gulped audibly, and nodded. Instantly, Castiel's arms dropped, and he took a step back, turning to Sam, who had watched the exchange silently through wide eyes. "Come on. Get in the car. I'll drop you both somewhere." and he turned stiffly and walked away. Sam followed quickly, but Dean took a few short, shallow breaths before pushing himself off the wall.

The Harvells had known John and Mary Winchester before the fire, and Ellen and Jo were as much family to Sam and Dean as their own father. The fact that Ellen also owned the local hotel was just an added bonus. Cas pulled up out front of the 'Roadhouse' but didn't turn off the ignition. Sam was out as soon as the car came to a stop, the tension building between Cas and Dean too much to handle, but Dean didn't move.

Castiel didn't turn to look at Dean, stiff, back ramrod straight and hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, and Dean couldn't bring himself to draw his attention, only staring at him from the passenger seat. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how he could take back what he said. Cas had said it was fine, but he hadn't even glanced at Dean the whole drive after the service station, and now he was sitting in his idling car, staring straight ahead and waiting for Dean to leave.

Dean took a deep breath. "Stay, Cas."

Castiel seemed to deflate, nodding silently and switching off the car. He was out the door and halfway to the 'Roadhouse' before Dean even managed to unbuckle himself.

He found Cas and Sam sitting at a corner table, with Jo leaning against the third chair. She seemed to be trying to engage in conversation, but neither were giving her more than monosyllabic answers. Her face lit up when she saw Dean walking over. Sam often insisted Jo had a crush on Dean, but Dean thought that was ridiculous. Jo was like a little sister to him, and if she flirted, that was all part of her 'friendly waitress' persona.

"Hey Dean" she chirped, her voice far too happy for the dreary atmosphere around her. "Long time no see. You haven't been here in a while."

Dean shrugged. "Figured I should probably pass one year of school, why not make it the last one?"

Jo laughed. "I'll get you some food." and she walked away. Dean flopped down in the seat she was no longer leaning against. Neither he, Sam or Cas said a word to each other.

Jo returned five minutes later carrying a large bowl of fries she put in the centre of the table. "On the house." she said, and Dean almost felt like wincing, her voice breaking the silence.

Her hand lingered on Dean's shoulder, where Cas had gripped him almost a week ago now. He had the strangest urge to shake her off, but instead, he smiled up at her. "Thanks, Jo." Jo's face took on a slight pink tinge, and she walked away much faster than she'd come over.

Dean reached over the table and grabbed a fry. The atmosphere between the three of them was strained, as if they all wanted to run in different directions, but they were sticking together through some sort of obligation. Dean was glad about that. He didn't want to go home for a while. As if he was taking his cues from Dean, Cas took his own fry.

The entire bowl took an hour and a half to finish, Sam, Dean and Cas only taking one at a time, as if more than that would break the fragile silence between them and start up something worse than just simple fighting. After the bowl was finished, though, Dean turned to Sam.

"Sammy, could you go wait in the car. Me and Cas'll meet you out there in a minute."

Sam practically sprinted out of the 'Roadhouse,' and Dean turned his attention to Castiel. Cas wasn't looking at him, and Dean was surprised how much he missed the staring. It was a little creepy, but actually, he liked the way that Cas looked at him, like he was important, like he could do anything. Now, Dean couldn't make him meet his eyes.

He sighed. "Look, Cas. I'm really sorry about what I said. Like you said, I was scared and angry but I still shouldn't have taken it out on you. All you were trying to do was help."

Cas still didn't look at Dean, addressing his hands instead. "It's okay, Dean. It was the truth." Dean felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Cas wasn't bothered by Dean lashing out at him, probably hadn't even really realised that's what he'd done. The fact was, Castiel's family _had_ abandoned him, and Dean had exploited something Cas had told him in confidence. It wasn't how Dean had yelled at him, but that what he had said had hit far too close to the mark.

"That doesn't make it any better, man."

Castiel nodded and stood. "We'd better get to the car. Sam will be waiting for us."

Dean watched him walking towards the door. He didn't know what to do, or how he could fix this. Cas was his friend, and he couldn't just let him walk out of his life. He jumped up.

"Wait, Cas" he called, and Castiel stopped before his hand touched the doorknob. Dean jogged over, coming to stop right next to him. He reached out and grabbed Castiel's arm, spinning the other man to face him before pulling him into a tight, one-armed hug.

Cas went stiff for a moment, all his muscles preparing to flee, but he didn't leave. Dean only continued to hold him in place, and suddenly, all at once, Cas seemed to sag under some invisible weight, wrapping both his arms around Dean's chest and pressing his face into his shoulder. The hug was becoming far more intimate than Dean was comfortable giving in the privacy of his own home, let alone in the middle of a hotel, admittedly one mostly empty, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Maybe this was something they both needed, he thought, before bringing his other arm up to settle around Cas' shoulders. They stood there for a few more seconds, before Dean bent his head to whisper in Cas' ear. "Thanks Castiel." He pretended he didn't notice how Cas shuddered.

Cas dropped Dean and Sam off at their apartment twenty minutes later. John had obviously woken from his stupor, because he was no longer passed out in the Impala, and the lights outside their room were on. Dean was the last through the door, and Cas waited until it had closed and the lights were switched off, casting everything but his car into shadow before he drove away


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So this is it, the last part of this storey. But fear not, my darlings, because it is not the end of this 'verse. Yes, that's right, 'verse. I don't care if no one asked for it, it's happening. It's been a long time since I've actually been inspired to write, usually I have to whip my muse into submission and then hope it doesn't pay me back by being awful. But here it is cooperating, so I'm not going to waste that.

Anyway, the 'verse is called 'Bumper Book of Love,' and I'll post here when the next bit us up. If anyone has something they'd like to see down the track, I'd love to hear it.

I truly hope you enjoyed this story and that I'll see you at the next one! Reviews are everything good in this world, and I can't thank the people who have already reviewed enough. Thank you thank you thank you. I can't believe you like it. You're the best!

* * *

After that, things started to change. Dean still headed to 'Haven' almost every day after school, but he also spent time with Cas outside of the bookshop. Dinners with Cas and Sam were as frequent as the nights John drunk himself into a state where he became angry and volatile, and Dean needed the break from his father almost as much as Sam did.

To begin with they just went to the 'Roadhouse,' Dean figured something familiar would be calming for Sam, and not make him so angry about why they had to leave home again. But every time Jo would send their table food and even alcohol "on the house," Cas would spend the rest of the night staring at her, and not in the interested way he watched Dean. It reached a head during their fourth visit, when Jo, after sneaking Dean a free beer, sauntered over to the old jukebox and, after fiddling with a few buttons, started humming along to REO Speedwagon as it drifted from the speakers. Cas paused halfway through reaching across to Dean's plate to snag some fries. He never ordered for himself, seeming content to steal from Sam or Dean's plates, and Dean had taken to ordering extra for himself to counter this. He had yet to convince Cas that he really didn't need to pay for half the meal, though. A few moments later, Cas stood, stiffly, and walked out of the hotel without saying a word. Dean looked after him, confused, before jumping up and chasing him out.

Five minutes later, Dean came back through the door, Cas trailing behind, to find Sam had eaten both his meal and the rest of Dean's. They left shortly afterwards, and when Dean checked his receipt later, he realised Jo had charged him for the beer. They altered their routine so every second week they would visit somewhere new.

-000-

The first time Cas entered the Winchester family apartment was because Dean hadn't lied when he told Jo he wanted to pass his final school year, but with the way he was going, that was starting to become a hazy fantasy. But Dean had figured that Cas had passed high school and had got an offer from a university and had actually studied during his schooling years, so was therefore smart and able to help him catch up.

Cas arrived for his first tutoring session exactly on time. Dean was not ready, too busy freaking out about the state of his room to hear the doorbell ring, but he didn't miss John's gruff "hello" as the door opened. Dean practically sprinted to the entrance, afraid of what he might see. He had known inviting Cas to the apartment was a bad idea, worried about what his dad might say, or what Cas might think of his family if he saw the true extent of what went on in their lives, but Cas had refused to let the tutoring take place at the home he shared with Gabriel, on the grounds that it would not be a constructive working environment.

Dean skidded to a halt just behind his father, and immediately felt his stomach drop. Cas' face was as impassive as ever, and he had reached across to shake his father's hand, introducing himself as "Castiel Novak, sir," but Dean could see the distaste in his eyes, no matter how he tried to hide it.

"Good to meet you, Castiel. I'm John Winchester. I've been told you're hear to see Dean." John took a deep breath. "Dean!" he shouted, before spinning and seeing Dean standing right behind him. "Oh. You're here."

Dean could've jumped for joy. His fathers eyes were slightly bloodshot, but they were also mostly clear and alert, which meant he was definitely sober. He leaned around his father. "Hey Cas."

"Hello, Dean." The distaste in Cas' eyes disappeared, to be replaced with that fondness Dean had only seen directed at him or Sam. "Would you like to show me what you're working on?"

"Sure. Follow me." Dean said, leading Cas into the fourth bedroom, which had been converted into a study area for Sam.

They emerged into the kitchen an hour and a half later to find John had made dinner; hamburgers. Cas needed little persuasion to stay for food, so he ended up around the dining table with Dean, John and Sam, polishing off his second burger in fifteen minutes, though he stopped every few minutes to look at John as if mentally weighing his worth.

Dean didn't care though. His dad was sober, Sam was happy, Cas was here and they were all sharing a relatively normal meal. At that point, he couldn't think of many better moments in his life.

However, Castiel, it turned out, was a relentless taskmaster when it came to schoolwork. He didn't let Dean slack off, and he wouldn't take no for an answer, always pushing Dean to do more and try harder, even when Dean was sure he couldn't. Worse, Cas was kind of a genius, and didn't seem to understand that other people, namely Dean, didn't get things as fast as he did. There was fighting when Dean wanted to stop for a little break or give up on a question and Cas continued to demand one more thing. After one particularly long day at school, Dean had stormed out of the apartment in a huff while Cas was trying to help him with his english essay. Dean swore up and down he couldn't do it, and Cas kept insisting that Dean was smart enough to do anything if he just wanted to, and Dean had had enough of the 'if you just apply yourself' speeches to last a lifetime. He came back to the study an hour later, smelling of beer, to find Cas and Sam discussing religion. Cas had left soon after grunting out a "later" as the door closed behind him, but Dean found himself absurdly relieved when Cas showed up for the next session two days later.

Casteil's tactics seemed to pay off nevertheless. So well, in fact, that Dean's grades improved so rapidly he was held behind after his history class and accused of cheating. The school had almost called his father and given him weeks worth of detention, but Dean had told them that Castiel Novak was tutoring him, which was why he had gotten so much better at remembering facts about the Civil War, and they accepted it for what it was. A miracle.

-000-

There were nights when Sam couldn't sleep. Dean didn't know what caused it. The fire that had burned down their house and killed there mother had happened during the night, but Sam was too young to remember that. Dean wasn't, however, discounting it for Sam's odd sleeping patterns. Whatever the reason, on Sam's sleepless nights, he came and sat up with Dean.

Cas had left hours ago but Dean was still doing homework when Sam slipped into his bedroom. He didn't look up, obviously not hearing the door open, but rather than alerting Dean to his presence, he watched him as he smiled down at whatever he was working on. Sam crept closer, hoping to sneak up on his brother, and glimpsed over his shoulder. Calculus. Dean had always been good at math, but since Cas came along, he seemed to actually like it. Sam was glad that Dean finally realised that liking math didn't make him less of a mans-man, or whatever it was Dean was afraid of. Sam got right up close to Dean's ear, and coughed loudly.

Dean jumped out of his seat, almost taking Sam's head off with his shoulder as he turned to face the noise. Sam rubbed his chin hard where Dean had hit it, but Dean couldn't decide whether he wanted to be annoyed or concerned. He settled with both. "Jesus, Sammy. Sit down before you hurt yourself some more."

Sam glared at his brother before flopping down on his bed. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, when he heard Dean huff out what was unmistakably a chuckle. He propped himself up on his elbows, preparing to berate Dean for laughing at his pain, but saw Dean wasn't even looking at him. Instead, he had returned to his homework.

Sam startled. Dean was willingly doing homework. Dean was willingly doing homework on a Friday night. Dean was _chuckling _at the homework he was willingly doing on a Friday night, looking down at it fondly. And suddenly, Sam didn't just suspect. He knew.

Sam cleared his throat loudly. "So. Cas is pretty cool."

Dean didn't even look up. "Yeah, I guess."

Sam could see this conversation wasn't going to come easily. "I mean, he comes over here like every day."

Dean tapped him pen against the table a few times before scribbling something on the paper. "Yeah. He helps me study."

"And he's got these big blue eyes, and they're nice I guess."

At this, Dean did stop what he was doing. He put down his pen slowly, and looked up. Dean had amusement plastered all over his face, but he could never fool Sam. There was a spark of panic in his eyes, but over what, Sam couldn't tell. "Got a crush there, Sammy?"

Sam huffed his annoyance. "No, not me, Dean."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dean's tone was smooth, dismissive, and his smile remained, but there was no pretence of amusement on his face now. Instead it was flooded in panic.

Sam almost laughed out loud. There was no way anyone wouldn't notice that Cas was as into Dean as Dean was him, but apparently the strength of Dean's denial was enough to convince him that Castiel's interests were entirely platonic.

Sam settled with another huff. "Dean. You can't lie to me."

Dean stood, walked over to his bed, and collapsed, face down beside his brother. "Am I really that obvious?" Sam made an affirmative noise.

"What am I gonna do, Sammy? Do you think Cas knows? Oh God, what if he does? What's he gonna think? He's gonna think I'm creepy. He's way to good for me."

This time Sam did laugh. Apparently, Dean's denial was taking all it's strength from his lack of self-esteem. Dean rolled over to glare at him. Sam returned the glare, and heard Dean mutter "bitchface."

"You can't believe that." At Dean's continued glaring, Sam's face softened. "Dean. He does everything you ask, even when you're being a massive asshole. I'm pretty sure he cuts out of work early so he can help you study. Cas likes you. You should just go for it."

Dean's face didn't clear. "Don't tell me what to do." He snapped, before flipping back over and squashing his face into his pillow. Sam sighed and made to stand up, but apparently Dean hadn't finished, because just as his feet touched the ground, he heard a word mumbled into Dean's pillow.

"Bitch."

Sam smiled, and laid himself down beside his brother. "Jerk."

-000-

The face that looked up at him from behind the counter had light brown hair and hazel eyes and was most assuredly not Castiel. Dean's immediate thought was to turn tail and run from the store, not wanting other people to know that he spent nearly all of his available time in a bookshop of all places, but this was the first time in months that Dean hadn't seen Cas' big blue eyes staring at him from that position, and he needed to know what was going on.

He made eye-contact with the stranger, and asked, as casually as he can, "where's Cas?" Okay, so subtlety wasn't one of Dean's strong suits.

Not-Cas' eyes lit up, and a huge, teasing smile spread all over his face. "I sent him home early." And _crap_, because Dean knew who it was. Gabriel. Cas' boss. Cas' big brother, Gabriel, who he just admitted to basically stalking Cas to, and who was probably just waiting to dash off and tell Cas about Dean's crush and ruin everything.

Dean made a number of aborted movements towards the door. "I'm just gonna...leave then."

Gabriel's smirk grew wider, and Dean was sure his face was going to split in two from the force of his mockery. "Sit down, Deano. I want to talk to you."

Dean fell heavily into the same chair he'd used on his very first visit to 'Haven' and watched as Gabriel practically stalked over to him. The first thing he noticed was that Cas' brother was short. Probably about the same height as Sam, but his brother had been shooting up like a weed recently. The second thing was that, despite his height, Gabriel seemed to be taking up the the entire front room of the bookshop, and Dean tried to press himself deeper into the chair.

Gabriel stopped right in front of Dean's chair and leaned forward, so his hands were resting on the armrests, and Dean was completely bracketed in. The smile was still there, but Gabriel's eyes were not amused. They were full of menace, and man, was Dean intimidated. But he couldn't let it show, so he stared right back and forced an answering smirk onto his face.

"Castiel likes you." Gabriel growled, and Dean had to blink rapidly for a few seconds because apparently neither Cas or his brother took the time to beat around the bush. He opened his mouth to say something, to deny, to reciprocate, he didn't know, but Gabriel wasn't finished talking. "Castiel likes you, but he won't say anything. Even though he was the one to send Balthazar to England, he was still pretty cup up about it. For about a month, all he did was call him and then hang up just before he answered. Pretty impressive phone bill, but we got the same calls, so that makes it less sad. But now you're all he talks about, and you need to make the first move, because he never will."

Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out. He didn't know what to say, or how to say it without sounding like an idiot, but Gabriel seemed to take his silence for and answer, and sighed loudly, leaning back so he was standing and looking down at Dean.

"Don't lead him on. If you're not interested, don't you dare lead him on. Because if I kill you, it'll just make him sad, but you can die a social death every day, and I can make it happen. You'll never get anyone again."

And with that Gabriel spun on his heel and strode back behind the counter. Dean sat in stunned silence for a few minutes, still trying to process the first few words that had come out of Gabriel's mouth. Cas _liked_ him? If only he knew what to do with that information. Dean had never had a situation where there'd been mutual _liking_ before. He didn't know what to do.

Dean stood and made his way out of the bookshop without a word. Gabriel didn't look up to see him leave.

-000-

Dean didn't visit 'Haven' for a week. His mind was all over the place, and he spent every night at the 'Roadhouse,' effectively avoiding Castiel in every way possible. He walked past the bookshop every day, seeing Cas through the window, and he knew he should just go in and say "hi," but he always chickened out at the last second. But he couldn't ignore the bookshop forever, and Cas was like a siren call, drawing Dean closer every time he saw him.

When he finally pushed that door open, the subsequent clunk of the hinges was louder than he'd ever heard it.

"Remind me to look at that one day." he said, and Castiel looked up from behind the counter. His face remained impassive, but his eyes lit up, and Dean knew Gabriel hadn't been lying. He didn't really believe it, but he knew.

"So. I met Gabriel."

At this, Cas' face went bright red and screwed up, and Dean realised this was the most emotion he'd seen in the man that wasn't anger or sadness. The first emotion that was happy, if embarrassment could be happiness. "I'm sorry."

Dean laughed, and walked over to lean on the counter, just as he had many times before, but this time was different, because Cas was leaning towards him too, and there was nothing separating them but a piece of wood. "So, you like me then?"

Cas didn't even hesitate, though the happiness to embarrassment ratio seemed to have shifted a little. "Yes."

Dean beamed. "I'll take that copy of the _Karma Sutra_ now."

And Cas laughed, actually laughed, deep and rumbling, and his face broke into a wide smile, all teeth and crinkling eyes, and Dean reached over the counter and grabbed him by the collar to pull him in for a kiss.


	4. To Be Continued

**Just a quick author's note to say it's there, it's up, and it's called 'The Ones.' That's right, the long-awaited (and I say that with the biggest hit of sarcasm) sequel to this story is now available. Well, I say sequel, but what I really mean is sequels. Yes, sequels. 'The Ones' will be a collection of one-shots, all set in this 'verse, dealing with Dean and Cas' life when university rears it ugly head. That's right, it's a collage!au. As if I could use any more overused troops. Feel absolutely free to prompt me with anything you want to happen. I really don't have that many ideas myself. **

**Anyway, 'The Ones' can be found either on my author's page, or somewhere in the vast recesses of . So get on it. Or don't, if you don't want the illusion that I'm a halfway competent writer to be shattered.**

**Finally, thank you so much to the people who have reviewed this story. I look at other stories and wonder how people get hundreds of reviews (what do I have that they don't? Is it talent, because I promise, I'm working on that), but few I get are worth more than all those because I can't believe that people actually read and sometimes even like what I write. Seriously, you guys are the absolute best, and I wouldn't be able to put words to laptop if it weren't for your encouragement. It means more to me than I can possibly express**


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